Parted by the Sorting Hat
by SlyffindorForTheWin
Summary: Twin sisters are uprooted from their childhood home in America and placed in the middle of the war against Voldemort.  Will love divide them, or can they hold onto their identities and keep each other balanced while chaos reigns around them. Two OC/DM/GW
1. Torn Memories

Author's Note: Okay here we go, certain things in this story will be changed around a bit from the original. But we will let you know when we make any dramatic changes so you don't try and throw some unforgivable curses our way (Bad HP jokes FTW). We are starting out in America ***pauses for shocked expressions*** I know, a HP no-no as the world doesn't really seem to exist outside of England in the books. If at any point you are lost and confused don't go and drink a Felix Felicis potion to try and luck your way into our warped and twisted brains. Just ask, we are happy to answer. (Wow I'm really sorry, I will stop with the really bad HP jokes)

Anyway, this is not a cross-over. We are taking two of the characters out of the movie The Covenant to add a little drama to our plot line, but only for the beginning. Now if you know anything about the movie we aren't taking the way they do magic. We are using the HP style the whole way through.

First major change we are doing is we are changing the age that you start Hogwarts at. In the books you start at 11, in our story you start at 12. As our story starts out in the fifth book that makes them16/17 because they have an early birthday. Awesome Sauce right? Hmmm, other than that I'll let you find out as we go. Enjoy~

We only own the original characters. The other characters and overlying plot is owned by an un-expecting third party who has no idea what we are doing to her poor creations.

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><p>The sun filtered grainy light down through the large maple leaves. Four people were walking through the deep grove that turned beautiful colors during the fall. For now everything was green with life, the grass that managed to survive in the orchards shadow, as deep a green as the tree's leaves. They were walking in pairs, one boy for each girl. The shorter girl pulled her partner back to leave a wider space between them all. She was obviously worried about something, although her large smile did wonders at hiding it.<p>

"Marianna you seem like you are preoccupied." The mans surprisingly deep voice comforted her, his smooth words working their way down through her muscles relaxing her.

Letting a real smile slip out she stopped walking and rested her head on his strong chest. "It's nothing, our parents want to talk to us when we get home tonight. I have a bad feeling about it is all." Holding her at arms length he tucked a strand of her auburn hair behind her ear smiling into her hazel eyes. He could tell part of her was lying, but that was nothing new, she always seemed a little more closed off than her twin.

"Mar, Pogue hurry up!" The other two were already sitting below the largest maple in the orchard. It was rumoured to have crossed the ocean from England when the original pilgrims settled in this area. Everyone in the surrounding towns had old wives tails about how it had magical properties. Witches during the Salem Witch trials would seek guidance and refuge below its enriched branches. These four had used it as their meeting spot since they were little; it had always seemed like home.

Arabella patted the ground next to her for Marianna to sit. Her bright personality radiated on all of them, refusing to let any negative energy into their lopsided circle. The two girls had such different personalities it amazed people when they found out they were in fact related. Everything physical about them was identical, except their height and eye color. Arabella was 7 minutes 28 seconds older and 3 inches taller. Something she loved to gloat over her 'little' sister, but it didn't really bother Marianna, she enjoyed her 5'5" height. As for their eyes, Arabella had a bright green hue that put any ever green tree to shame while Marianna had rich hazel eyes with flecks of green sprouted in random patterns around the outside.

"What were you two talking about?" The gravely voice caused Arabella to involuntarily smile. He smirked at the two sitting down, assuming the worst, his white teeth a vibrant contrast against his black short cropped hair and slightly tanned skin. The two boys were best friend and polar opposites. Pogue had long sandy brown hair that matched his stunning hazel eyes. Although they managed to keep their 6 pacs through swimming, that was were their similarities stopped. Pogue worried about everyone around him, keeping a tight hold on his relationships, Marianna brought out the best in him. While Caleb maintained a calm head and cool mind, if it weren't for the little stories Arabella told Marianna, she would think he didn't have a soft side.

"Making plans for tomorrow." Marianna linked fingers with Pogue. "Isn't tomorrow an important day for some reason—for two people here—that aren't Pogue and I?" Using her free hand she picked playfully at the grass, shooting glances at the other two. Arabella looked down smiling, Caleb pulled her gently onto his lap, letting her head fall back on his shoulder.

"Awh isn't that cute." Throwing his head back the deep laughter billowed out of Pogue as he teased his friend.

"Two years isn't that big of a deal." Trying to defer the tension Arabella suddenly felt as Caleb's arms tightened around her waist she locked eyes with Pogue, a fare warning for him to play nice. Unwrapping his hands she crossed her own to fight comfortably in his. "Besides we aren't the two that act like it's constantly a first date."

"That's because Marianna scares him." Everyone laughed at Caleb's slightly harsh words. Marianna however smiled, Pogue had broken through her frosty exterior a while ago; other people just never seemed to pick up on it.

"Aren't you the one that asked Arabella out through five different people because you thought if she said no, she wouldn't actually believe it came from you in the first place." Pogue offered coming to Marianna's rescue.

"Hey, that was sweet, besides it took you forever to stop playing around and finally ask my sister out." All four laughed at their memories. Despite their years of friendship it hadn't been until 7 months ago that Pogue and Marianna had finally admitted they were dating. Even if everyone else had realized it long before them.

The sun started setting as they sat and talked, the diminishing light sent surprise chills up everyone's spines despite the warm night. Pogue put his jacket around Marianna's shoulders while Caleb pulled out his wand and conjured a small fire for them all. It rested an inch off the ground causing the water in the grass to crackle and fizz to the surface. The noise set Marianna on edge. Each pop made her think someone was walking up on them. Arabella could sense her sister was feeling uneasy; looking across the bubbly light she understood why she was worried. Before they had gone out that day their parents had said they needed to have a serious talk when they got home. Marianna always feared the worst, despite her sister's best efforts.

The moon finally showed itself from behind the thick clouds that had rolled in with the setting sun. They knew they had to leave but the scene was too comfortable for them to just get up and walk away from. The girls were resting comfortable when Arabella's phone went off. The ringer scared them in the silence, Marianna instantly pulled away like she had been caught cheating on a test. Pogue pulled her back but the mood was ruined.

"Hey mom," Arabella whispered even though there was no need for it. "Yeah we're on our way home now." The voice on the other end sounded annoyed. "No we didn't forget, Mar found an animal to play with, you know once she makes a new friend it's hard to get her away from it." That was typical, Arabella usually blamed Marianna, their parents babied her more.

Closing her phone she looked sullenly at Caleb. "You know whoever thought giving wizard parents cell phones was a good idea was just stupid." The American wizard community was closer with the Muggles than anywhere else in the world. The cross-over from the Muggle world brought the American wizards out of the stone age in certain aspects.

"We have to go?" Standing, Marianna asked, already knowing the answer. Pogue followed suit sensing the disappointment she could not keep contained.

"Family meeting time." Arabella smiled, knowing it did nothing to lighten the mood. "We can see the guys tomorrow Mar, stop pouting." Pulling Caleb up she hugged him tight, his lips connecting softly with her forehead.

"I'm not pouting, I'm protesting." Leaning up for her own goodbye kiss, she shook off his thin summer jacket. "See you tomorrow." Leaving the fire instantly, she didn't even look back for her sister, Marianna hated goodbyes.

Hugging Arabella from the side Pogue walked away to his bike whistling. Caleb refused to let go of Arabella's tiny frame. He had problem showing affection around others, she always treasured their alone time. Letting go slowly he let her slip down into his fingers that were still locked behind her back.

"What's wrong with your sister tonight? She seemed moodier than normal." Resting his head against her neck his words were mumbled in her skin.

"Don't worry about it, she over reacts to everything." Bringing his head up she gently kissed his lips. "Did you plan anything for tomorrow?" looking innocent she caught him off guard.

"You'll see tomorrow wont you." Looking disappointed her trick hadn't worked, she thought about working a different angle. Inching slowly closer to him, she kissed his neck gently. "Hold on there." Pulling away he smiled at her pouting face. "Just wait and see, I'll pick you up tomorrow morning." Kissing her gently one last time, he let her walk away first.

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><p>Arabella and Marianna soon found themselves sitting in front of the barren hearth in their family's parlor. The girl's parents sat across from them, their moods reflecting the cold and empty fireplace. "So—what was so important that we had to leave Caleb and Pogue early?" asked a slightly annoyed Arabella. While she was often called the happy perky twin, Arabella was more than capable of speaking her mind and stating her opinion, which she often did.<p>

Sophia and Parker Ambrose sat pointedly across form their children. They were far from what most people accepted to be of Pureblood standing, they raised their children to be themselves and speak their minds instead of continuing the cruel endless cycle of monotones drones most families seemed to turn out. Though they enjoyed the Pureblood life style that Parker's family had left to them. Their large estate was capable of housing at least 50 people comfortably with it's own Quiddich pitch in the back for Marianna to practice, her favorite stress reliever.

Sophia tried to speak, but found the words caught in her throat. Glancing to her husband she hid the tears that were falling gently down her cheek. The girls expressions softened as they turned to their father.

"Girls, do you remember Elizabeth Creevey? Your moms good friend that moved to England?" Seeing their blank expressions he looked apologetic. "Of course not, you two were only three when she left." Nodding they tried to put the missing pieces back into their childhood memories. "Well she died—"

"She didn't die Parker!" Sophia's voice was harsh and cold. "She was murdered." Marianna and Arabella looked at each other confused. "Her and Patrick. Both murdered in cold blood." Looking at her children she broke down completely, it seemed she had been waiting to do that since receiving the news.

Arabella was too shocked to move but Marianna somehow found her way to her mother, kneeling in front of her winged armchair. Taking her mothers hands she searched her eyes for an opening, "I'm so sorry mom." Sophia instantly threw her arms around the youngest twin, gesturing for Arabella to come over for a hug too.

"You are alright, aren't you Soph?" asked Parker. As if a silent thought passed between them she pulled herself away, wiping her tears and straightening her silk blouse.

"Yes, I'm okay, it's just a little sad is all. They left their children behind with no one to look after them. Even know they are just staying at a strangers house." They could all hear the tears threatening to break free again.

"Why don't they come live here?" Arabella offered trying to be helpful in this awkward situation. "We have room for them, and since you guys were so close, it only seems right." She always managed to maintain a level head about things that didn't involve her perfect school record.

"Lilly?" Marianna called for her favorite house elf.

With a pop Lilly appeared inches from her. "Yes Miss." The tiny creature smiled kindly at all of them, she wasn't a house elf in traditional terms; she earned a weekly stipend and had one day off a week in which to use as she wished.

"Can you please bring mom something to drink and then get two of the biggest guest rooms ready." Marianna's voice was kind and gentle, Lilly had had a large hand in raising them.

"Of course Miss—" Lilly began bowing when Sophia cut her off.

"No Lilly that wont be necessary."

"But mom we have this all worked out, don't worry, we'll help them feel right at home." Arabella cooed to her mother as if she were a mental patient.

"You girls aren't understanding exactly." Their father stood up and walked behind Sophia's chair, resting his hands gently on it. "Their two sons have honestly been through a lot right now. And after conferring with the headmaster of their school, we decided it would be easier if we moved there…" He could see their instant panic.

"There—as in England?" Arabella was unable to control her volume. "You can't be serious. All of our friends are here. And Caleb and Pogue—You can't expect us to just leave!" Their mother seemed on the verge of tears again and Arabella realized her rushed words hadn't been that well thought out.

"You have to understand girls, Salem is harder to get into than Hogwarts, and the Headmaster already agreed to accept the transfer. Beside they've been through so much, pulling them away from their friends after their parents just died would be cruel."

Arabella seemed almost defeated, but Marianna was just about to get started, the entire family could feel her energy switch; that was never a good sign. Standing up quickly she moved back to her chair. Sitting and crossing her legs, she licked her lips angrily.

"Marianna don't do what I think you're going to do." Arabella whispered hoping her twin heard.

Ignoring her sisters quiet request she locked eyes on her father, the only person she could currently vent her anger on. "So—Let me get this straight." She was drawing out every other syllable. A clear warning sign to everyone that knew her. The temperature in the room dropped with her anger, this would not end pretty. "You want us, in our second to last year, to leave everyone we know. Along with the place we were born and our boyfriends." She paused, the anger not allowing her to plan out her rage.

Arabella took her momentarily silence to judge if her parents were just playing some cruel joke on them. She could tell they weren't, and Marianna was no where near done with her yelling.

"And you guys think this is fare to us? I'm sorry your friend died mom, I really am. But you two haven't given me a valid reason for us to move." She could feel the angry tears starting to prick the back of her eyes, her emotions were going to get the better of her soon. "Lets face it. Arabella is in love with Caleb, they are going to get married. And as much of a fun loving person as I am, I don't do well in new places." The sarcasm radiated off every word in her last sentence. The tears were being replaced by pure unheeded anger and she wasn't going to hold back. "It's not as if we are the picture perfect family to begin with. You two were plenty content to sit back and let others raise us while you played good Pureblood with the neighbors. It wasn't until Arabella dated that Muggle that they saw you all for the liars you were."

Arabella strategically placed herself in between her twin and her parents, at least when it got physical they would have to pause to go around her. Sitting silently she could only agree with her sister, but she feared Marianna was going to far this time.

Parker was tensing up behind his wife's chair. The global Pureblood wizarding community would look at his family as a failure for the way his daughters acted and he knew it, but Sophia had too kind of a soul for him to try and change into someone with traditional Pureblood values.

Marianna was standing again. "So how about this, you two go move to England, live a happy life with your new perfect Pureblood family and the two of us will stay here and live happily without you." Parker was in front of her before she even blinked, he had knocked Arabella over, seemingly not seeing her.

His hand skimmed across her cheek leaving an angry red mark. His anger flared and died as Marianna stared him down, sneering at him as if mocking him all over again. Sophia was crying again, harder this time; his anger issues had always been a hot topic with in the family.

"For your information the boys are considered mudbloods as Elizabeth was a squib and Patrick was a Muggle born." The words seemed foreign and dirty in his mouth. He had always been conscious of his wife condition of love for non-Purebloods, but it did get him into trouble sometimes.

"Please girls, understand, they were killed by He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. They need our protection." Sophia's voice was weak and defeated. Arabella and Marianna felt her broken words come for them, their jagged edges digging deep into their skin and holding on.

"When do we have to leave?" Arabella was stunned, she couldn't even think of an argument to offer up.

"Tomorrow. By noon." Parker's words were harsh, but he had already backed into his chair, licking his wounds from hurting his daughter, he never liked to lose control, but she brought out the worst in him.

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><p>Arabella was crying on her bead, Marianna came slightly through their adjoined door, her sisters pain visible to her. "Ari—it will be ok," said the younger sister to her older twin. After Arabella did not respond and just continued to cry, Marianna decided she needed to try and comfort her. The moment Marianna sat on the bed, Arabella's head snapped up, she seemed angry through her tears.<p>

"What do you mean it will be ok?" Arabella's voice cracked on the last syllable but she stood her ground. Standing up she looked down on her younger sister, fire flashing behind her green eyes. Despite her thoughts screaming and pleading with her to just stay there and yell, her body betrayed her. Taking the few short steps to her fulllength claw foot mirror she ripped the smiling picture of her and Caleb from its ancient frame. The two inhabitants of the picture seemed angry at being disturbed but she didn't care. The memories of the happy waving picture wouldn't matter after tomorrow anyway. The pure rage and anger took over her and she ripped the picture in two completely ignoring her shocked twin.

"Ari stop what are you doing?" Marianna walked to her mirror just in time to catch her slumping twin as she settled on the plush Persian rug.

Following the intricate red and gold patterns of the rug Arabella couldn't even look at her sister. They sat there in silence. Arabella continued to cry while Marianna held her close. She could think of nothing to say that would comfort Arabella, settling on letting her cry it out she waited.

"Miss's?" Lilly's small squeaky voice came from the other side of the large king bed. Her dark chocolate eyes peered at them behind long black lashes. "Miss's?" She asked again seeing them sitting on the floor.

"Yes Lilly?" Marianna covered her sisters crying form with her body, they both hated other people seeing them cry; it showed weakness.

"Miss's it's 2 in the morning. Shouldn't you be sleeping…" Letting her voice trail off, she came closer, passing Marianna and wiping the tears for Arabella's cheeks. "It will be okay Miss, trust Lilly, she will make it all okay." Her voice held years of praising and caring for the girls. Each word laced with the love that came from years of patching scrapped knees, sneaking midnight snacks, being the shoulder to cry on, and now mending breaking hearts.

"It wont be Lilly, I don't even know what to say to him." Arabella's voice was weak and strained, sounding like the tears had poured inward down her throat instead of against her now tender cheeks.

"Ari, he will understand why we have to leave." Crouching on her now stiff legs, she tried to pull her twin up. Her resistance at being moved would have been comical if not for her tear stained face. Pulling out her wand she pointed it at her sister's chest. "Wingardium leviosa."

"Hey put me down, I'm not 2 anymore." Arabella shouted to the best of her ability with her waning voice.

Ignoring her attempt at being stubborn Marianna moved her wand and her sister onto the bed. "Well now you can at least sit somewhere comfortable." The feather down bed immediately conformted to her stiff frame, gesturing for the other two to join her they sat in silence while Lilly played with something in her hands.

"What's that Lilly?" Marianna reached for it, but Lilly tried to keep it hidden.

"Nothing Miss." Her sly eyes hovered momentarily on Arabella who was now laying down half asleep, body exhausted from crying.

"Lilly?" Marianna couldn't bring her self to use a harsh tone against the person who had raised her, but whatever it was, was driving her crazy.

"I can't leave him Mar. I just can't." Arabella's voice surprised them both. "He keeps me together half the time, what am I going to do." She sounded like she was on the verge of tears again.

Sensing the almost catatonic state of her sister Marianna laid down next to her. Their heads rested on the same pillow, the bedding the same red and gold mixture as the carpet. Lilly pulled a blanket from the bottom of the bed and wrapped it around the two. With a snap of her fingers the open flamed lights on the walls instantly dimmed; turning the white washed walls a deep cream color and throwing the rest of the furniture into darkness.

"It will be okay Ari. We still have each other." Resting her hand along her twins cheek she tucked her hair behind her back and realized she had passed out. Turning to her other side her newly adjusted eyes settled on Lilly who was still watching over them. "It will be okay—right Lilly?" Her voice was shaking, the tears she held in finally breaking to the surface now that her sister was taken care of.

"Yes Miss. I will take care of you don't worry." Her long tanned fingers stroked her hair comfortingly like when she was a child.

"But Pogue…"

"Pogue and Caleb are both good boys. They will understand and be here for you." Her voice was rocking her to sleep, the tide of dreams washing against her legs and working up to her chest. Before she knew it her head was submerged and she was floating on black tides.

Lilly stared at the two children she had raised and worried. Despite her telling them it would be okay, she felt change coming and it bothered her beyond words. England was a dangerous place for her type of witches. Compassion was not something they could openly show as Purebloods there. Looking at their sleeping forms one last time she placed the mended photo on one of the mahogany nightstands. The photocopies of Arabella and Caleb seemed happy to be reunited; they were embracing in the dark room. He would occasionally spin her out before bringing her back in for a light kiss. Lilly shut the door knowing they would never be her two witches again.

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><p>First Chapter done! Woohoo! We hope you liked it. Stay tuned for more. XOXO C &amp; S.<p> 


	2. Witches Without Magic

Second chapter! :D

We really hope you guys are enjoying the story. We're trying to put out a chapter a week, if you want more chapters in a week than that just let us know.

Now I know, I meaning S, C's busy right now so I'm updating...As I was saying, I know we are going a little slow in these first two chapters, with the set up and all. But trust me, hang in there and keep reading, it's worth the wait to get to the action.

Enjoy~

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><p>"Girls! Are you ready?" There fathers voice came billowing up the stairs from his position in the sitting room. The tone he used was calmer than last night but the girls could hear the underlying anger<p>

"We are coming down now," Arabella yelled taking the mended picture and putting it in her pocket. Caleb had come by that morning and she had been crying ever since. When Marianna had tried to ask her about the encounter Arabella had refused to talk about it.

The twins slowly made their way down the grand staircase with their trunks levitating behind them. They were trying to take in every inch of their home before they left it with no return in sight. "I am really going to miss being able to do magic at home," said Marianna.

"I know what you mean," Arabella mumbled keeping even more tears in check with a strong front. "I don't understand why the English Ministry is so up tight about that. Don't they understand that if kids aren't allowed to use their magic over the summer they will lose some of it."

"The English are not as—forward thinking as the Americans. They are very traditional and enjoy their ways," Sophia surprised them with her sudden input, "Do you girls have everything?"

"Yes," Marianna said as she came to stop in front of the mantle.

"Alright then, you and Arabella go through first. We will be right behind you," said their father.

Arabella walked up to the now smoldering fire. She extended her right hand for her twin to take. With one last glance around her, Marianna walked to her sister and grasped her hand. Arabella took a handful of Floo Powder, threw it onto the ember and said loudly and clearly, "Ambrose Manor!" The two girls were sucked into the green flames and spun on what felt like an endless water slide that had replaced the water with hot dry air.

A few seconds later the twins gracefully stumbled out of the fireplace in the entranceway of their family's English country estate. As promised, seconds after they were out of the fireplace, Arabella and Marianna's parents came through hand in hand, at the same time, Lily apperated into the foyer with the family's things.

"Lily, would you please put the girls things away?" asked Sophia, "they wont be able to do it with magic and I need them to get ready for dinner tonight. We are going to pick up Colin and David from the family they have been staying with."

"Yes Miss," said Lilly as she apperated into the twins adjoining room.

"Girls, please dress nicely but not formally," Parker barked to the now annoyed twins, "We want you to look respectable."

Arabella still seemed to be in shock from her encounter with Caleb so Marianna lead her up the stairs into their rooms. The girls had spent a few weeks every summer in their English home. As much as they loved the ornately decorated Tudor style manor, it had never had the same warm, inviting and friendly feeling that their home in Salem did. Marianna walked Arabella into her room and sat the sad girl down at her vanity. "Lilly?" she called out.

"Yes Miss Marianna?" asked the house elf, "I just finished unpacking, everything is where it should be."

"Thank you Lilly. I was just wondering if you could help Arabella get ready. She is very upset," said Marianna.

"I'm fine. You don't need to help me Lilly, but thank you," said the girl breaking her silence for the first time since their arrival or their departure for that matter.

"Alright Miss's. I will be in my room. Just call if you need me," said Lilly with a pop.

"Do you want to know what happened between Caleb and I?" Arabella mussed out finally turning to her sister with slight hope in her voice.

"Only if you want to tell me," Marianna replied slowly, as if she was talking to , "I can tell you what happened with Pogue first if you want." Arabella gave her sister a slight nod. "Well I told him exactly what happened and why we had to leave. He was upset but he understood. For the most part he was just upset that he wouldn't be there to watch over me and protect me." She let out a sly smile, she would be lying if she said his over protective nature didn't comfort her.

Arabella gave her sister a slight smile stating, "I wish Caleb had been that understanding. He wanted to talk Dad into letting me staying with his mother and him rather than going to England. I told him I couldn't be separated from you like that and that we were two halves to a whole. Separating us is never a good idea. While he understood that he also said I was his reason for breathing and that he needed me just as much as you did." Seeming slightly embarrassed at the last part she dropped her head back down.

"Wow. He actually said that?" Marianna was shocked and worried, despite how Caleb normally acted, saying things like that made her wonder when he would show up to take her Arabella.

"Yeah, and then he gave me this," Arabella blushed as she held out her right hand. Shining on her right ring finger was a beautiful pink sapphire ring.

"Oh. My. God. That is huge!" exclaimed Marianna as she grabbed her sister's hand.

"That was my first thought too!" Arabella squealed letting her inner girl rise to the surface before she could remember she was supposed to be sad. "After I made sure it was only a promise ring. As much as I love Caleb I am not ready to be engaged, let alone married!"

Marianna couldn't take her eyes off her sister's promise ring. It was a 4 karat flawless princess cut pink sapphire set on a platinum band. "Where did he get it at?" asked Marianna.

"Well—it came in a little blue box!" Her twin cried out biting her bottom lip with excitement.

"That is fantastic!" Marianna said, pausing as a perplexed look crossed her face, "I don't understand why you are so upset then."

"I am just sad about not seeing him everyday. I understand why we have to move to help these boys, but that doesn't make it any easier," replied Arabella.

"I know. I am going to miss Pogue too but we will get to see them over breaks and such. Plus we always have phone calls and iChat," added Marianna. "What did you give Caleb in return?" asked Marianna as she suggestively wagged her eyebrows at her twin.

"Mar!" exclaimed Arabella, "I did no such thing! I gave him the platinum Rolex he has had his eye on. But I had the bottom engrave with 'With Love Always Ari.' And I also took all of the pictures you took of us over the past year and put them into an album for him."

"Those are really great gifts Ari," said her sister.

"Thank you. Beside—its not like we had time for anything anyways," replied Arabella with a sly smile.

"I knew it! You were going to give him your v-card weren't you?" exclaimed Marianna.

"I was not—well maybe—I don't know. I wasn't planning on it but I wasn't going to necessarily stop it either. I love him Mar. I want him to be my first. I am just not sure when that will be," said Arabella.

"I know you do. Besides, you are the only card carrying virgin left." said Marianna without thinking through her statement.

"What! When? Why didn't you tell me when it happened?" Arabella yelled.

"Calm down. It only happened on our anniversary last weekend. I haven't had time to tell you since you are with Caleb all day and practically all night." Marianna played off her sisters overreaction.

"Yeah. You are right. But tell me now—" Arabella said as she was interrupted by the voice of her mother.

"Girls! We are leaving in one hour. You had better be ready." Arabella and Marianna had not realized that since they had been up talking an hour had gone by but their mother's shrill voice quickly brought them back to reality.

"Crap! We need to get ready. I will tell you all about it tonight, I promise," said Marianna. With that the twins went to their room and began to get ready, occasionally asking the other what she thought of a particular dress or style of hair. 55 minutes later the twins were ready and walking down the stairs.

Marianna had chosen a simple black sundress with a red bow sash. Her eye shadow was smoky to make her hazel eyes stand out, her blush was simple and her lips red. Marianna had parted her hair off to the side and pulled it up into a black ebony clip. To finish the look she wore black stiletto heals to make her of equal height to her twin and the stand of black Tahitian pearls her parents had given her for her 16th birthday.

Arabella wore a sundress with a cream-colored lace bodice and a sage green skirt. Her make up was simple and bright, the complete opposite of her sisters. She used pearl colored eye shadow to brighten and open her emerald eyes, a soft pink blush to give her pale cheeks some color and a pouty pink gloss on her lips. She wore a simple pair of white ballet flats with little bows on them and her string of pink tinted cream colored salt water pearls that her parents had given her for her 16th birthday. They were ready for whatever awaited them.

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><p>Despite the girls over-active imaginations they had not expected what greeted them when they arrived via side-apperation with their parents. Marianna managed to regain her balance faster than Arabella who nearly slipped in the muddied pathway. Looking around the family realized they were in the middle of a tall wheat field. No house seemed to be in site, their father seemed to be on the defense, making them nervous.<p>

"Parker would you lower your wand, you are probably making them nervous." Sophia pulled a compact out of her clutch, using the setting sun, she made sure her make up hadn't been affected by the sudden change in surroundings.

"Well where is everything then? This seems to be an unusual place for a house." Reluctantly he lowered his wand arm, turning he eyed the nearest patch of wheat as if it had offended him by existing.

"Mom, I don't like it here." Arabella's eyes were switching back and forth between her twin and the mass of mud that was assaulting her new shoes.

"Calm down Ari, the bugs wont attack you." Marianna got a little pleasure out of watching her twin squirm, she had never been the outdoorsy type like her. But her eyes were fixed on a spot about ten feet in front of them. It was empty space, but something was drawing her to it. She couldn't even blink, knowing something was right outside her range of vision. Taking a few steps forward she felt whatever it was move towards her. Each breathe caught in her throat, was this a trap that they had so easily walked into?

Two tall boys walked out of thin air, breaking the enchantments and disillusionments to reveal a precariously stacked house behind them. They were smiling at the new group of people who had popped into their field, their eyes shinning bright with the excitement of visitors. They shared the same flaming red hair and kind brown eyes. They matched each other in stride to reach the new comers. Everything about them was identical, except one of them was as transfixed on Marianna as she was on him.

"Hello and welcome, sorry about the delay, we were trying to figure out who should come and great you." One of the boys extended his hand to each of the Ambrose's before gesturing for them to follow to the house. "My name is Fred, and my slightly less attractive twin here is George, he would say hello if he didn't seem to have been struck dumb by your sudden appearance."

Marianna broke his intense stare as he finally found his voice. "Sorry, Fred seems to have it backwards, I'm the attractive one." Breaking into a wide smile he also shook everyone's hands, lingering slightly on Marianna.

Reaching the house a large group of red headed people emerged to great them. But something felt off, they were all tense, as if they were waiting for one of them to burst into flames. Their eyes all matched the twins, and so did their obviously inherited bright red hair.

"Welcome to our home, I'm Arthur Weasley, this is my wife Molly, our son Ron and daughter Ginny." Reaching forward to take Parkers hand they seemed to have a momentary man off, sizing each other up. Mr. Weasley let go first seeming satisfied.

"Sorry about any trouble you had finding the house." Mrs. Weasley added stepping forward. "You never can be to careful now-a-days, especially with the young ones around."

"Of course, don't worry." Sophia reassured her smiling her brightest to show off every one of her polished teeth. "But is something wrong? If you are going to insist on holding your wands up your sleeves like that, I feel its only fair we know why." Her statement caught them off guard, from their expressions it was obvious they hadn't expected them to notice.

"Ah—well, to be honest we just want to make sure you are who you say you are." Mr. Weasley peered at Marianna and Arabella, staring through them and making them nervous.

"Understandable. But how do you plan on doing that?" Parker's voice was cocky but calm, he was going to play cat and mouse with them and enjoy every minute of it.

Sophia felt this side coming out in him and tried to cover it up with small talk. "If you have any questions feel free to ask."

"No mom, can't you tell they already know we are who they think we are, they are just being difficult because they want to make sure we aren't secretly working for him." Marianna's boldness even surprised her. Her face tightened as each word slipped out, even though her brain screamed at her to keep quiet and not draw attention back to herself.

"You're good." The twin that she thought was Fred let out, licking his lips subconsciously at her.

His brother hit him on the back of the head before smiling shyly in her direction. "That she is, how did you know?"

"I felt it. Whatever potion was on your hand when you greeted us. I'm guessing a revealing charm was worked into it?" Unable to take the twins intense looks she searched for refuge in the younger brother and sister's direction.

"I thought I felt something, but I figured it was just this place." Arabella looked down hopelessly as the mud dried on her shoes. They were by no means snobs, but this was not what she had expected in the least. The house looked like it needed twenty spells just to keep it standing. Its slight lean to the side made her worry about entering it.

"In that case can we go inside?" Sophia broke the slightly awkward silence as everyone stared at each other. "It is getting rather late."

"Oh yes, sorry, sorry. Please come in." Mrs. Weasley swept them inside, finally letting a real smile touch the corners of her mouth. "I have to warn you, we do have some other house guests on top of Dennis and Collin."

Arabella elbowed Marianna as she realized who the extra guests were. Sitting in a cozy little living room were four people. The two boys on the couch were obviously the brothers that they had come for. The only female in the room was looking at them with worried eyes. Her hand reaching out and dropping back as if she thought better than trying to make contact. The last was sitting in front of a well-used fire place. His shocking black hair contrasted well against his electrifying green eyes. A deep lightening shaped gash evident on his forehead. Before Marianna could catch up to speed one of the twins brushed past her arm.

"This is Dennis and Collin, and these are Ron's friends, Hermione Granger and Harry Potter." He seemed to be trying to judge their reactions, but they were good at keeping trivial things like that in check.

Sophia rushed past everyone to kneel in front of the two quiet siblings. "Hi, do you two remember me?" The oldest looking one looked up, seeming confused as how he had gotten here in the first place. She smiled encouraging at him, "I visited your mom a few years ago. Do you remember me at all?" He stared intently before dropping his eyes back down with a mumbled yes.

Mrs. Weasley came up behind the group shaking her head sadly, "They haven't said much since they got here." Looking almost longingly at them she turned back towards the front door. "Lets have dinner, shall we?"

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><p>The dinner was silent. The Ambrose's were slightly over dressed and it made the already crowded room seem even more awkward. Sophia kept trying to engage the Creevey brothers in conversation; they both just sat quietly nodding when prodded further by Parker. Arabella was enjoying herself with the authentic British food, she had always loved the country. Her eyes wandered back and forth between her twin and the twin that seemed a little too interested in her. Marianna's pretences of ignoring his obvious admiration just fueled her further into action.<p>

"So you two are twins." Breaking the silence on their end of the table she glared down at the one that was molesting her 'little' sister with his eyes.

"Well spotted." The younger brother, Ron, let slip before looking horrified and apologetic at what he had said to their guests. "Sorry." Seeming mortified, he nearly missed his next bite of food.

"Ron! I'm so sorry about him." The girl with bushy brown hair rushed to his aid. "He really doesn't think before he speaks." Everyone laughed at her all to real statement.

"It's fine." Arabella was stiff, these people were weird. Their end of the table consisted of Her, Marianna, Fred, George, Ron, Harry, and Hermione. Everyone seemed lost at where to take the conversation after Ron's clumsy remark. Arabella took the initiative to keep them headed down the right track. "I only ask because Marianna and I are twins too."

"I figured a morph jinx had just been used." Fred jested smiling at the two of them.

Arabella let herself smile back. "We've heard that before. Or that I was trying to make a mini me."

"Hey!" Marianna pushed her sister slightly in her chair. "I am not that freaking short." Stabbing the potatoes on her plate with a deathly glare she looked up at the others. "Plenty of twins aren't the same height. And we are only 3 inches apart. Besides she's the one that decided to have weird eyes that don't even run in our family." George smiled and laughed a little to hard at her comments, making everyone look at him and Marianna snicker at his eagerness.

"We're called sectoral heterchromina twins; because our eyes are different colors. The height thing is because she's stubborn and refuses to grow up." Arabella joked keeping the mood light.

"No it's because you decided it would be fun to be freakishly tall." Marianna stuck her tongue out, instantly proving her twins point.

"Well at least our boyfriends seem content with the differences." Arabella's voice had an edge to the light airy tone she was using. It was a direct hit against George who seemed confused by her words. She had managed to tell him to keep away while playing nice, hopefully Marianna wouldn't notice her medaling.

"So you two have boyfriends?" Hermione asked watching both Fred and George's reactions, she had picked up on their odd behavior as well.

"Yeah, back in America, they weren't to pleased with us moving though." Arabella's pointed words caught their mark; everyone who noticed the unique behavior of the twins seemed to be squirming with the conversation. But before she could drive the message home a loud booming noise shook the house.

Everyone was frozen in place for a moment before rushing from his or her seat's to the front door. The ground beneath them was shaking as pictures fell from the walls and ornaments fell from random shelves. Arabella and Marianna were clinging to each other to keep from falling down. Crashing into the others at the door, it was Harry who had to help keep them stable.

"What's going on?" Sophia was holding onto Dennis and Collin protectively.

Mr. Weasley was in the door way looking back at them. "We're under attack." His voice roared over the next wave of attacks against the enchantments set up to protect them. Raising his wand he seemed unsure what direction to point it in. "Did you lead them here?" His accusations brought the other's wand's down on them.

Parker pulled his own wand standing in front of the rest of them. "How dare you say such things." The two men kept their eyes locked as wave after wave hit the protective barrier.

Over the rumbling noises five pops could be heard as people apperated inside the barrier. Rushing towards the front of the house they seemed transfixed by the unusual situation.

"Remus what are you doing here?" Mrs. Weasley questioned the group as a whole through this man, while lowering her wand.

"We were just checking in on you all when we saw this commotion. Whats going on here?" He seemed the calmest out of everyone, surveying everyone with a muted expression.

"That's what we'd like to know." Mr. Weasley challenged turning back to the Ambrose's. "I'm not sure how much longer the protections will hold up, and I'm not sure if we can trust these American's."

"Why is that? Because we won the war? Get over yourselves already! That was two hundred plus years ago!" Arabella yelled at the 'red coats'.

Taking in the full weight of the situation Lupin turned to Parker and Sophia just behind him. "I thought that was you Sophia. What trouble have you brought our way this time?" Remus asked with a twinkle in his eye.

"Are you people being serious?" Marianna screamed at the shocked group in front of her. "Those are Deatheaters trying to kill us and you are joking around?" Arabella could feel the stupid act that her twin was about to pull off, but before she could stop her Marianna had taken off for the barrier between the two groups.

"Marianna come back here!" Their fathers voice rang in her ear's as she passed through the barrier and faced the first of 7 men dressed in black. They seemed more surprised by her sudden appearance than by her slightly twisted smile.

Once again she was mentally begging herself to stop being such an idiot. But stepping outside the barrier had let her complete the connection she had back in America to call for help. Frozen, she could do nothing in this country without getting kicked out of the Wizarding World. Feeling the full weight of her actions she waited, the men in front of her shook awake from their surprise and turned on her.

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><p>Dun dun duuuunnnnn! What will happen next? I knooooooooow. :) Check back next week to find out yourself.<p>

I'm also wondering if you can tell mine and C's writing styles apart yet. :) We've both done a couple sections now...You're all smart, I know you got this!


	3. The Lines Are Drawn

**_Chapter 3_**

**_The Lines Are Drawn_**

Well, it's been a few years. Sorry about that. Life and all. But if anyone actually reads this, then we apologize. If not, oh well. Hope cyberspace enjoys another HP fanfic. :)

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><p>"Well what do we have here?" The man closest to her stepped forward, breathing in her fear. "I think we have something to play with now boys." Marianna could feel his smile twisting into perverted thoughts below his mask.<p>

Trying to back slowly into the barrier she felt her body press against a hard chest. Knowing the worst she turned quickly only to be pushed to the ground as the person sent a spell flying at the closest intruder. Looking up Marianna realized it was Pogue's strong chest she had backed into, her mind went blank with the relief that she wasn't dead.

Quickly kneeling down Pogue helped her up and moved in front of her. Caleb, Reid, and Tyler were standing along side him, shooting spells out faster than the deatheaters could handle. They barely had time to acknowledge her presence before another curse came rocketing their way.

Marianna looked back at the still in tact barrier, none of the others had come out. But she could feel George on the other side, pacing back and forth with Arabella who had to have noticed that Caleb had come too.

Turning back to face the action she noticed one of the Deatheaters trying to get Reid on his own. Breaking every rule they had ever been taught about defensive training he followed the masked man into the dark wheat field. Not bothering to glance back Reid didn't realize that Marianna was following him into the shadows. The Ipswich boys could handle this situation, that was the only reason she had called for Pogue, but they were stronger as a unit, Reid knew that, there was no reason for him to break formation.

"Reid?! Where are you?!" Marianna's heart was racing, the two men had run off faster than she could play catch up; letting herself slow down for a split second she heard the echo of ricocheting spells to her left. Before her heart had slowed a beat she was cutting through the over grown grain.

The only thing illuminating the 12-foot clearance was the multi-colored spells being shot back and forth. Reid's blonde hair flashed at her from the right, whipping his wand up and down he seemed to be enjoying the event Marianna had brought them too. With a flick of his wrist he sent the Deatheater flailing backwards.

Spying Marianna he turned on her, before he had even raised his wand Reid sent another baray of spells down on him. Realizing it was a lost cause he lowered his mask. His face was twisted into rage at his defeat by a young wizard; blocking Reid's attack he inched his way closer to Marianna.

"The Dark Lord does not leave work undone little girl. Remember that." His gruff voice echoed in her head as he whisked out of existence.

Reid was suddenly next to her. She could see his mouth moving, but all she heard was a loud rushing noise. The Deatheaters words reverberating back in on her. She had done a very stupid thing leaving the barrier and showing her face. The target on her might as well have been bright green at this point. She was marked.

"Marianna?!" Shaking her roughly Reid was trying to pull the awed girl back to reality. "Marianna snap out of it!"

"What? I'm fine." Marianna stated trying to assure herself as much as him.

"What in the world were you thinking?" The concern in his eyes was comforting. "Why did you follow me, you know I can handle one pesky wizard." Pulling her tightly to his chest, his warmth filled her back up with life.

"I—I'm not sure, I'm sorry. I had to make sure you didn't get yourself killed." To her he smelled like home. She didn't want him to let go, but he did to soon.

Laughing he let her fall from his arms. "Come on we have to get back and check on the others." Beginning to jog back to the barrier he pulled her along in the dark. "How did you even get caught up in this mess? When Pogue called for us he seemed almost in a panic." Stopping he turned back to her, blocking her from getting back to the group. "One day away and you had him on a war path. You'll have to be careful with this power you have over him."

For a second she thought he was joking, but the changing tone in his voice called her attention to the truth in his words. Nodding she squeezed his hand before she sidestepped him and took off at a sprint back to the barrier.

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><p>By the time Marianna and Reid reached the others, all the Deatheater's had gone. The barrier had been dropped and the two separate groups seemed to have merged together. Still a good distance away Marianna noticed that Caleb seemed to be holding Pogue back from going to look for her. When their eyes met he finally managed to shake off his friends strong grip.<p>

"I told you she was fine with Reid, Pogue you need to calm down." Caleb seemed out of breathe but happy nonetheless. He was holding Arabella's hand now that he was free of his fighting friend. Gently he brought her tiny hand up to his lips. His show of affection seemed to satisfy her but not stem the rage at what her twin had just recklessly done.

"What the fuck were you thinking!" Pogue crossed the short distance to Marianna and Reid in five strides. Marianna was a bit taken aback by his harsh words towards her. Before she could even mount a defense he had walked past her straight to Reid. "You knew she would follow you if you broke off like that." His right fist connected with Reid's hard jaw. Sending him staggering a few feet.

"What the hell man." Regaining his balance Reid massaged his jaw. He had expected something along these lines, so he wasn't all that shocked by Pogue's behavior.

"You risked her safety to get a little attention!" Closing the distance between them again he pushed him hard in the chest, almost knocking the wind from his lungs.

"Guys stop it." Tyler was between the two before Marianna could move herself into that familiar place. "You two are acting stupid. Pogue go see your girlfriend, Reid what you did was stupid, no need to fight over the obvious." Pushing Pogue back towards Marianna, Tyler helped Reid back over to the rest of the group.

Marianna stood with her head down. She had been stupid too. There was no guarantee that they would have gotten through the barrier; she shouldn't have called for Pogue so easily. His arms crashed around her, holding her tighter than was healthy. Her tiny frame was dwarfed by his well-muscled body, she could feel everyone's eyes on them.

"Marianna—I was so worried about you." His lips brushed the top of her head as he whispered into her hair. "As soon as I felt you calling I knew something was wrong."

"I'm sorry Pogue, I shouldn't have—" His lips melted into hers as his hand traced along her flushed cheek.

Breaking his hold on her he looked seriously down at her. "Yes you should have. And you better always do that when you need me." Kissing her more gently he seemed to want to keep her from the rest of the group.

Finally pulling away she turned to see almost everyone staring at them. Slowly she pulled him back to the rest of the now disapproving group, the front-runner being her fuming sister. Awkwardly Marianna stood in front of them all, holding Pogue's hand behind her back.

"Well that was fun." Her joke seemed to shake everyone from their confusion at their rescuers. Tyler and Reid smiled as they congratulated each other again.

"I. Will. Kill. You." Arabella's voice was shaking. The only thing keeping her grabbing hands from actually reaching her twins neck was that Caleb had a tight hold on her waist. Marianna slunk back into Pogue, her eyes momentarily lighting on the Weasley twins, Fred seemed amused by the situation while George seemed slightly dejected.

"Ari I had to." Marianna tried to reason before her sister could break free.

"You had to?!" Arabella's voice cracked as she ripped away from Caleb and landed full force on Marianna knocking her from Pogue's protective embrace and to the ground. "YOU LEFT A PROTECTED AREA TO GO INCHES FROM SOME HOMICIDAL FREAKS IN MASKS JUST TO CALL FOR YOUR BOYFRIEND?! I WILL MURDER YOU!" They were rolling back and forth across the ground. Arabella was dominating over her slightly weaker sibling. Finally managing to pin her she wrapped her hands around her neck.

"Someone help me!" Marianna gasped out.

"Sorry Mar this looks like a sister thing." Reid barely got out through his laughter.

"Shouldn't we stop them?" George stepped forward trying to figure out how best to pull the two apart.

Pogue stepped in front of him, instantly stiff. "It will be over in a few minutes. Ari just needs to get this out of her system." George fell back, the two seemed to already have a bad connection.

"Well should we go inside?" Sophia offered ignoring her daughters trying to kill each other.

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><p>By the time Marianna could get Arabella off her, ten good minutes had passed of them being alone outside while Arabella abused her in every sense of the word. Finally letting her sister go she stood up. Whipping away the tears she had been letting fall she reluctantly offered her hand down to her gasping sister.<p>

"Don't you ever let me catch you doing that again." Arabella's words were sharp and menacing. Glancing back at the house she walked a few feet farther from it instead.

"I don't even know why I did it." Marianna finally voiced, slightly ashamed of herself.

"Because you are an idiot with a death wish." Arabella's voice had gone back to a safe and normal range.

"I'm so sorry. No one was doing anything, and I felt Pogue in the back of my mind, but the connection was being distorted by the protective spells." Marianna's hands were flying wildly as they often did when she was upset with herself and forced into talking.

"The boys said something about that connection. What the hell did you and Pogue do?" Finally turning back to face Marianna, Arabella crossed her arms, trying to keep some warmth in her arms from the chilled night.

"It's nothing, really." Marianna's voice trailed off, her sister would not be pleased at her linking herself to another person.

"Mar."

"Its just—you know how protective Pogue is—So when I told him I was leaving he insisted on putting a connection spell between the two of us…" Marianna could feel Arabella's disappointment. "It's not as bad as what you are thinking. It only works if one of us calls out to the other with the right trigger word." Her last attempt at justification seemed to fall on her sister's stony expression.

"You know how dangerous it is to connect yourself to another person like that Marianna." Arabella was back to almost shaking.

"Come on Ari, don't be mad. Look I can sever the connection if I want to. And it came in handy tonight, you have to admit that." Wheedling in her position she tried everything to get her sister to smile.

Snorting Arabella headed back to the house. "You wouldn't have needed them anyways. As soon as you broke for the barrier, George was on your heels." Looking back over her shoulder she winked at her surprised sister, so much for this being an easy night.

* * *

><p>The mood inside the tiny house was mixed. The younger generation seemed to be fueled by the fight they had just witnessed while the older generation was sitting off by themselves musing as to what the open attack meant. But everyone was having a hard time ignoring Caleb as he accosted Parker into letting him have his way.<p>

"Mr. Ambrose, you have to see my side of the argument makes sense. This is obviously too dangerous a place for Arabella to be. You were all attacked, you can't want your daughter to be in harms way like that." He was standing strong in front of their farther. His eyes alight with fire, refusing to sit down when Arabella begged him to let it go.

"So you think I want my children in harms way?" Parker's voice was unperturbed by the boys pleas.

"That's not what I'm saying sir. I simply think if you let Arabella return to American with me, she would be much safer than here in this war torn country." Caleb was starting to sound a little desperate as Arabella decided to ignore the situation and sit next to Marianna on Pogue's lap. Ron, Harry, and Hermione were on the couch across from them. The Weasley twins and Ginny were standing back in the distance.

"And Marianna." Pogue added trying to defuse the tension a little by drawing attention away from his now pathetic looking friend.

"Yes and Marianna as well." Miss reading his friends actions as support his argument seemed to be refueled. "They could stay with my family until the summer ends, and be back at Salem in two weeks for school."

Parker laced his fingers together, seeming to be in deep thought. Caleb inadvertently stepped forward. Parker took his action to be an aggressive front, whipping his wand out he slammed the boy into the ground before anyone could tell what happened.

"Parker!" Sophia cried out positioning herself in front of the Creevey brothers again. Embarrassed she tried to draw the room's attention away from her over zealous husband. "I'm sorry everyone, he's just on edge from the attack." Her excuse was paper thin at best and Parker seemed to realize his misbehavior, releasing Caleb from his position. Arabella kneeled down to make sure he was all right.

"I think it's time you boys went home." Remus stepped up from the table gesturing to the 4 boys who had come to their rescue. "We appreciate what you did. I'll be sure to owl your ministry, or what do you call it in America? Anyway, I will owl them to tell them of the good deeds you have done here tonight." The smile on his face was fake, but it was the best he could muster at this point. "In fact why don't we all leave, we've had a long night." The other new comers nodded and filed outside while Remus waited for Caleb, Pogue, Tyler, and Reid.

Pogue's grip tightened on Marianna's waist, not wanting her to move off him. Twisting her neck around she kissed him on the cheek trying to be as comforting as she could be in the tension filled air. Slowly he let her up, following the others outside after one last kiss goodbye.

Caleb took Arabella aside, completely dejected from his high of the fight. "I will bring you back, don't worry." His thumb and forefinger kept a tight grip on her chin, trying to push his confidence through to her.

"Don't worry Caleb, I am safe here. Marianna just decided to be herself tonight, despite our parents asking us to behave." Leaning up she kissed him gently before pulling away. He followed Tyler and Reid out the front door, leaving the tiny house filled with an awkward silence in their wake.

"Well, no one can say you American's aren't fun." Fred came out from the shadows leaning against one of the chair's backs. Smiling he infected everyone until they mirrored his ridiculous expression.

"You know it. And who knew you Brits could throw such a great party." Arabella tried to play along with his ludicrous jokes, everyone knows the British can't have fun.

"Well at least we know Dennis and Collin will be safe at your house." Mrs. Weasley came out from the dinning room, smiling and the room. "Marianna, Arabella do you want to go get their trunks and call it a night." The kind-hearted woman pointed them up the stairs. "They were on the third floor."

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><p>"How did we get stuck doing this?" Marianna turned Collins trunk for the third time trying to fit it between the two beds in the room. "One of the boys could have at least offered to help." Pouting she pulled her wand out before remember she couldn't use it and gloomily put it back.<p>

"Would you want to help two girls who had psychotic boyfriends?" Arabella teased pulling Dennis's trunk to the door. "But if you want I can send George up. I think he understands now that you are taken."

"George? What are you talking about?" Marianna turned away from her sisters prying eyes. Had she noticed him looking at her too? Her heart started to pound, Marianna was sure it was loud enough for her to hear.

"Oh come on Mar, don't tell me you couldn't tell he was flirting with you all night. I finally brought up the boys to try and deter him." Arabella picked absently at her dress from where her attack on Marianna had messed it up.

"You did that on purpose? Come on Ari, I'm sure he was harmless at best." Marianna kicked the trunk before wrenching it one last time. "GAH! I give up on this stupid thing." Throwing her hands up she sat angrily on the bed.

"You really are weak Mar." Opening the door she stepped out. "I'll be right back to get it, don't break anything while I'm gone."

"Oh haha. You aren't that funny." Absent mindedly she pulled her wand out again, twirling it around her fingers she fell back against the bed, tracing shapes in the air above her she didn't even hear the person at the door walk in.

"Need help?" The voice was a little sullen but still pleasant enough.

"Oh no my sister…" Sitting up she realized it was George standing there. "Oh hi." The room seemed to fill with their awkward unspoken words.

"So that was your boyfriend?" Leaning against the doorframe he was trying to seem uninterested.

"Uh yeah, been 7 months now." Standing up quickly she slipped her wand away, instead she twirled a lose strained of hair around her finger, he made her nervous for some reason.

"Yeah seemed like a nice enough guy. Big guy though, almost seemed like he's too big for you." Kicking against the wooden floor he seemed a little spiteful.

"Excuse me?"

"You know, like he could crush you if you weren't careful. But that's cool, if that's what you are into." His accent was confusing her as to if he was actually joking or being serious.

"I'm sorry, is something about my boyfriend bothering you, practical stranger that I just met tonight?" Her eyebrows contorted together as she moved to the defense.

"Hey no need to get testy, I was just stating an observation. If you are okay with someone who looks like a lost link then more power to you and your free thinking American ways. Want me to get that trunk for you?" Not waiting for a response he crossed between the beds and easily picked up the trunk.

"Are you serious? Or is this how all you British treat guests?" Marianna was completely flabbergasted by his actions.

"What's going on here?" Arabella was back in the door way, watching the bad soap opera scene unfold.

"Nothing. It seems the monkey didn't get his banana today." Marianna stormed out of the room, leaving the two behind her in anger.

Arabella turned back to the ginger boy. "I see the way you are looking at her." Her statement made him shift the weight of the trunk from one side to the other. "She does have a boyfriend, and I'm telling you for your own safety more than anything, you should stay away."

A slick smile slid onto his lips almost too easily. Moving to the doorway with the trunk he chuckled to himself. "Don't worry, I don't plan to hurt your sister."

"Marianna can take care of herself, I'm worried about Pogue trying to hurt you. I'm serious, when it comes to her—he gets really scary, real fast." Arabella was remembering the time another boy at school had hit on her after they had only been dating two months. Pogue put him in the hospital for a week.

Finally passing past Arabella George looked back still smiling as he carried the trunk down the stairs. "I can handle myself too." His attitude was as if he had just accepted a challenge.

Arabella looked after him shaking her head, muttering to herself she followed after him. "The lines are drawn, I wonder which one of them will cross first."


	4. Secret Glances, First Chances

_**"Secret Glances, First Chances"**_

Trying to be more active, hope you all...er...anyone who stubbles across it, enjoys!

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><p>"Are you sure you don't want your father and I to go with you?" Sophia glanced from her daughters to the two boys across the room. They were standing close to each other, still seeming wary of the new surroundings after only 3 days.<p>

"Mom, for the last time, isn't it bad enough you made us move here? We can go school shopping with out you guys." Arabella played with her perfectly manicured nails, annoyed to be repeating the same argument for the past hour and a half.

"But the boys—" Sophia tried reasoning before Marianna cut her off.

"Will be fine with us. Besides, we will be the ones with them at school, we need to get to know them better." Grabbing a pinch of flew powder she motioned for the boys to come over. "Anyway, Dad scares them, and you are to clingy." Sophia seemed shocked by this startling new revelation.

"You guys ready to go get new school supplies?" Arabella donned the same odd cheery voice she had been using with them the past few days, they just seemed relieved that she had stopped using her almost yelling slow voice normally reserved for that special cousin at the family reunions everyone avoids.

Nodding they each grabbed a pinch of the acid green powder. "Arabella will go first, then you two, then I'll go. You guys have flooed before right?" Marianna turned from her mothers now pouting form and looked them up and down.

"We've done it." Collin murmured trying to keep all the dust from slipping through his fingers.

The twins exchanged glances, they had been hoping getting them away from the manor and their parents would at least brighten their moods. They honestly didn't expect much after just losing their parents but it would be nice to see them forget for a minute at least. Arabella stepped into the ancient fireplace, vanishing in a flash of green flames. Collin and Dennis followed suite.

"Marianna?" Sophia put her hand on her daughters shoulder.

"Hmmm?" Barely even turning she watched the green flames die down.

"Make sure to get them the best of everything." Sophia seemed on the verge of tears for about the hundredth time that week.

Something in Marianna snapped, her anger towards her mother's new behavior came boiling to the surface and she couldn't keep it in. Stepping into the fireplace she glared at the woman. "Don't worry, we'll make sure to get everything for your new chance children. But you need to know that they wont be taken in by this face you're putting on for long, and when this new family you're planning falls apart too, they will be just like Ari and I." Throwing down the floo powder she watched her mothers face whisk out of view.

* * *

><p>In her anger Marianna nearly slammed head first out of the fireplace. Arabella, who was standing only inches away, managed to catch her. Seeing her twin's enraged expression she blocked her view from the Creevey boys, who seemed content in their new environment.<p>

"Hey since we're new here why don't you guys help us out at first?" Rushing her words Arabella felt the all to familiar fake smile spread across her face. Taking a breath she slowed down. "Looks like we're in the book shop. Can you go find your books? And if we haven't found all of ours maybe you guys can help us." Not noticing her strange behavior they just nodded and walked off, leaving the sisters alone by the fire.

"Don't even start Ari. I'm fine." Marianna moved past her sister pulling her folded up book list from her pocket.

"You look like you are about ready to murder someone, so forgive me if I don't believe your 'I'm fine' comment." Catching up to her sister, Arabella steered her down an empty walkway. "Did another bogart attack you, because you thought it would be a 'good learning experience' to place a mirror in front of it and see what it was afraid of?" Even this old memory couldn't wipe the scowl from her face.

"I'm serious Ari, just drop it. Should you have sent those two off alone? Aren't we supposed to be watching them?" Marianna tried changing subjects but when she bothered to look at her sisters face she saw she was not going to win this battle.

"Do you think someone would be stupid enough to attack them in public? And with your current mood, I think you are more dangerous than any goon in a mask." Arabella was waiting, and that was one thing she could always do. Out wait her sister.

"I'm just tired of her acting like she can treat them like new children and form this amazingly perfect family around their lives." Marianna's voice was devoid of any emotion, a bad sign, it meant she didn't even care enough to truly be mad anymore. "And the thing that gets me the most is that when he goes off on them the first time she will crawl right back into the cauldron she's been living in our entire lives." Pushing off the bookcase that had become her make shift chair Marianna grabbed at a book from her list.

"You don't really think dad would get mad like that at them do you? I mean they aren't really family. And normally he's good about playing nice in front of everyone but us." Arabella absently ran a finger over a book's dusty spine. Pulling it out she put it in the basket she had managed to find.

"That's not on your list." Marianna's anger was starting to fade, it always did after talking to Arabella.

"No, but it looks interesting." Turning back down the walkway, Arabella led the way back to the lighted main room. "Don't worry Marianna, I wont let him touch them. And you know despite your dislike for those two boys, you wouldn't either."

* * *

><p>Arabella spotted the boys on a back wall looking slightly lost. Leading Marianna over to them she tried to quietly listen in on their conversation. The store was becoming more and more crowded so she could only hear every few words. What she did latch onto was that they were worried about someone they had seen in the shop below them. Deciding that playing detective wasn't as fun as it had been when they were 5 Marianna let their presence be known.<p>

"Hey guys, are you finding everything?" She watched their faces shift back to the blank stare she had been getting for days and felt her temper flare again.

"Yeah. But how are we supposed to pay?" Dennis spoke more words than he had since they had met, startling both girls.

"Oh don't worry about that. You are part of the family now, everything gets paid for you." Arabella stepped forward trying to coax them back into a normal state.

"Oh…" Collin seemed to understand better than Dennis, but his mind still seemed to be downstairs with someone else in the shop.

"Is everything alright?" Arabella was trying her sweet voice again, it made Marianna want to throw up.

"What? Yeah, everything's fine." Collin mumbled his words with how fast he was going. His eyes slipped back over their shoulders, looking for someone.

"Okay, I'm not really in the mood for this guys." Marianna had lost all pretenses in her voice. "I know I don't understand how you are feeling now. I doubt anyone does. But if something is wrong, you have to tell us." Crossing her arms, she looked like a force to be reckoned with.

"Mar! You can't be so brash with them." Arabella looked apologetic, but they didn't even seem to notice.

Collin seemed to really see both of them for the first time, thinking quickly he nodded in defeat. "We really are alright, we just saw someone from school—he's not very nice to us, well anyone, and his fathers a known—Deatheater." Whispering the last word he looked behind them again to see if they were being watched.

"What?! Why didn't you say something." Arabella screeched in the form of a whisper. Rushing to the banister she scanned the crowed below them. Analyzing each face she tried to predict if the person could have been a Deatheater.

Mariana was by her side, she considered a more practical approach of yelling out 'hey Deatheater' and seeing who turned to look, but for some reason that didn't seem all that safe. The two took in almost every face they could, no one seemed a real threat.

"Is he still down there?" Arabella pulled Collin forward, trying to shield him as best she could.

"I-I don't think so…" He seemed unsure of himself, not wanting to be wrong. Stepping back to his brother he just stood there thinking hard for a few seconds. "Would it be alright if we just left now. We have all our books, there are other shops we can go to…" Trying his best to not sound dispirit, but manly instead he puffed out his chest a little.

"Sure thing." Arabella motioned for one of the store clerks. "We are paying for all of these now." Quickly doing the math in her head she handed the surprised man a handful of gold. Without another word the small group made their way back down the stairs and out the door. Mariana and Arabella looked at each other wondering what they had stepped into.

LINE BREAK

Sitting outside Florian Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour the four sat quietly eating at brightly colored confections. The Creevey brothers seemed to only pick absentmindedly at the sweets in front of them. Mariana and Arabella exchanged side long glances agreeing something had to be done.

"Do you not like your food?" Arabella's voice couldn't contain its usual fake sweetness. She realized that attempt was a losing battle.

"It's fine." Collin poked his spoon deeper into the icecream, thinking that showed some form of pleasure. In reality it just forced the slightly melted mint chocolate chip ice cream to slosh over the side.

Sighing Arabella just nodded, was dealing with this two boys really worth all the trouble. Mariana was already tired of dealing with the teacup humans. She never had much patient for anyone younger than them. Especially if she deemed that they were acting stupid.

Kicking her sister under the table, Marianna jerked her head to the left, trying to get Arabella to look at Dennis. He looked like he was in a bit of pain, his face was screwed to the right as if he was trying to keep something in.

"Are you alright Dennis?" Arabella's voice lost all pretence, she seemed generally concerned. Her hand shot across the table and covered his, this action alone seemed to shake him from whatever thoughts were crossing his mind.

"Wha—" It was as if he didn't realize his face was betraying his thoughts to the rest of the world.

"He's fine." Collin nudged his brother shaking him back into his month long stupor. "Bit his tongue I reckon."

Dennis just nodded in agreement and turned back down to his melting puddle of sugar. They sat in silence for a few more minutes, Arabella and Marianna practically yelling at each other through their eyes.

"Fine." The word came out as a hiss but the venom behind it was apparent. "Listen you two, we really have no idea how to handle a situation like this, and we're sorry about that, but if you guys are going to continually shut us out and not give anyone any insight as to what's going on in those tiny boy minds we can't help you." Marianna's arms naturally crossed in front of her. Arabella knew that was her attempt at an "I don't care" pose, but other people just seemed to think she was pissed.

"Well that was tactless, thank you for that tantrum Mar." Arabella couldn't contain her annoyance at her twin's inability to use kid gloves when dealing with the boys. "What she means by that guys is that, we get it. Every things changed for you two recently and if the roles were reversed we wouldn't want to talk to anyone about it either. But you aren't doing any good by keeping it all inside."

"Hardly. If our parents died we'd have a freaking party. Well—dad anyway."

"Marianna Elizabeth Ambrose! Don't say things like that!" Arabella looked around alarmed as if their conversation was being listened in on.

Marianna snorted, "Like you would be devastated if he died."

"I would be and so would you! Just because you pretend you don't care about anyone doesn't mean I actually buy it." Arianna's hands were flying wildly around her, as if more movement would help to articulate her point.

"Oh as if you know anything that's going on in my mind!" Marianna pushed off from the table, her metal chair scrapping along the stone and making them all cringe.

"I know it's a twisted place." Arabella's lips barely moved but they all heard her slanted words. Marianna was about to tackle her annoying other half when Dennis started laughing. The two girls were startled out of their argument; they had forgotten they weren't alone.

"Do you two always fight?" Dennis managed to choke out before he was over taken with laughter again.

"What…?" Arabella's brow furrowed with her confusion and worry over whether or not the boy had finally snapped.

"This isn't fighting. This is being sisters." Marianna's quick comment seemed to do nothing but make him laugh harder. Collin looked at the two girls before a smile spread across his on face and a small laugh crept out.

The girls were amazed at how different they looked when they weren't constantly on the verge of tears. They looked like normal teenage boys; nothing out of the ordinary about them. If someone else was walking by they wouldn't think anything traumatic had happened to any of them.

"Well you two are peculiar aren't you." Marianna hadn't intended it to sound as mean as Arabella seemed to think it did as she stepped rather hardly on her sisters foot. "Oww, was that necessary?" Marianna glowered at what was supposed to be her mirror image. The term 'twin' always fell on deaf ears with them.

"Is it necessary for you to ruin everything? They were finally happy!" Arabella seemed more annoyed at this situation than when Marianna had 'accidently' glued her new pink shoes to the ceiling with a nonreversible spell, the main problem was that she was still in them at the time.

The boys just seemed to laugh harder the more the two girls bickered. "They are still happy you twit. Stop glaring at me!" Marianna was the one with the quick temper and she was in no mood to deal with her sister.

Arabella was taken-aback, "Twit? Did you just use British slang on me? Are you going Native on me?" The concern was evident in her tone. "I'm the one who likes British things, stop taking my identity! You already stole my birthday and tried to steal my face, that back fired on you didn't it."

"Really are we on this again? I didn't ask to be your twin, and you were only born a few minutes a head of me, when do you plan on letting that DIE." Annunciating every syllable Marianna mocked her sisters speech pattern.

"You are honestly unbelievable." Arabella crossed her own arms unaware how alike her and her sister actually were.

"Learned from the best big sis." Marianna was throwing out everything she could think of to try and taunt Arabella.

"Please…stop…I can't…breath…" Dennis had slipped off his chair and was on his hands and knees on the ground, holding his stomach with one hand while he tried to climb back up to his chair. Collin helped him up, unable to remove his own smile.

Arabella and Marianna smiled themselves. Who would have thought their little tiffs would be that entertaining to anyone. Arabella seemed even more shocked that they found her sisters sarcasm understandable. Most people took everything she meant to be serious and thought she was rather rude.

Arabella looked at her twin and motioned her over to the side of the patio, out of hearing range of the boys. "Why don't you go ahead to Magical Menagerie with the boys so they can pick out new pets while I settle the tab?"

"Alright. But don't take too long. I want to get a little Quidditch practice in before dinner," said Marianna.

* * *

><p>Arabella hadn't been completely honest with her twin when she said she needed to settle the tab, she also needed a little space. She loved her younger sister more than anything in the world but at times she needed to be by herself to think. The boys were a complex puzzle that she planned on deciphering the same way she solved everything, through logic. It was logical that the boys missed their parents. It was logical that they were sad. Now she simply had to come up with a logical way to keep them entertained that didn't involve her attempting to strangle her twin every five minutes.<p>

After paying for the ice cream Arabella started down the cobbled alley deep in thought. She wasn't paying attention to where she was going and soon found herself in a part of Diagon Alley that she had never seen before. The shops were smaller, darker and much closer together than in the bright main alley.

"I guess I had better find someone to ask directions of," murmured Arabella.

Going into the closest shop, Arabella quickly looked around and decided this was not exactly the type of place she wanted to be in. Walking quickly to the counter she ignored all of the dark magic items around her. Ringing the tiny silver bell on the counter, she called out to the shop keep, with no response. The longer she sat there the more uncomfortable Arabella became. She felt as though the dark magic all around her was trying to take the light magic directly from her soul. In a panic Arabella ran out the door into the street and right into a stranger with cool eyes and a kind smile.


End file.
